We all know the basic wine overview of the Loire… It’s divided into 4 big areas, each with their distinctive grapes and famous names. Going from West to East these are: Nantais (Muscadet from the Melon de Bourgogne grape); Anjou (Chenin Blanc); Touraine (more Chenin and Cabernet Franc); Centre (Sauvignon Blanc and some Pinot Noir). This gives a mental picture that can be represented a bit like this:

All well and good, and in fact a pretty accurate general picture. However, the four areas aren’t really of equal size. Just looking at West-East extension – Nantais is nearly 60 miles, Anjou only 45 miles, Torraine over 70 miles, and then a 20 mile gap to the 50 mile wide Centre. Production is uneven too: Nantais produces a bit over 10%; Anjou nearly 40%; although the geographically largest, Touraine only yields about 20%; and Centre nearly 30%.

Here’s a much more accurate topographically correct map:
All the above notwithstanding, the naive generalisation isn’t too far off. Only the small areas of the Vendée are not covered in the West. In Anjou you will find bits of Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau, and Gamay here and there (Gamay actually appears across Touraine too). The East only real exception is the deceptive Pouilly-sur-Loire (not Fumé) area which makes wines from Chasselas!

The real variations to the general picture are within the Touraine area.

You can find all sorts of grapes here but there are three main departures, which form the basis of this month’s tasting:

In the North: the often neglected areas of Coteaux du Loir and (less significantly) Coteaux du Vendômois…

In the North-East: the odd areas of Cour-Cheverny and Cheverny and the Solonge area in general…

The increasing presence of Malbec – under its original name Côt – especially as you go East along the Cher River. Côt actually arrived here from its original home in Quercy at the time of the renaissance, before going to Cahors and thence to Argentina…

Firstly the relatively little known area lying along Le Loir river about 25 miles due North of Tours. [Le Loir actually flows West, pretty well parallel to La Loire, for another 50 miles from here before joining the Sarthe just North of Angers.]
This area (sometimes referred to as North Touraine) is actually composed of three wine areas: Coteaux du Loir (CdL), Jasnières and Coteaux du Vendômois. You can read more by scrolling down to the post of January 24 2017…
Jasnières is an enclave within the general CdL area, capable of rather good Chenin Blanc – fierce acidity with a rich counterpoint. However the area’s oddity is the Pineau d’Aunis grape, a spicy, herby grape which must form 60% of the reds. Sometimes it’s 100% – and we’ll see what that’s like…

The area in the extreme NE of Touraine is the second source of strange wines. The story goes back to the renaissance ascent of the Château at Chambord – as a hunting home for Francois I in the early 16th Century. Many grapes, from Bourgogne and elsewhere, were planted there, nearby in the Solonge area and at Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny. The unusual white grape Romarantin is the main grape in the appellation of Cour-Cheverny… While Cheverny white is mainly Sauvignon Blanc, and red is a Pinot Noir / Gamay blend (recalling BourgognePassetoutgrains). Many grapes find their way into the Rosé from here and the surrounding area including Pineau d’Aunis again.
However other varieties also made their way to Chambord and despite being lost to phylloxera in their home some have survived. A couple moved from there to be in the Solonge winery of Henri Marionnet, Domaine de la Charmoise (you can read more about this winery by scrolling down to the September 20 2016 post).
As well as un-grafted Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin, Gamay and Côt, they have direct line descendants of the Chambord plantings of Romarantin and the otherwise extinct, Teinturier (red flesh), grape: Gamay de Bouze.

Finally – the eastern Touraine has an increasing preponderance of Côt. We’ll try an example from the Cher area, together with a Pineau d’Aunis Rosé sourced from the same grower..

On Thursday 15th June Richard led the ICC Group in tasting wines from Domaine La Tour Vieille, comprising Apellation Collioure Controlée wines and a Bunyuls. My reports from this tasting were all excellent, both in regard to the quality of wine and about Richard’s presentation. I am very grateful to him for conducting the tasting, and for the notes below:

These are high quality wines and were all ready for drinking now although they will keep for many years. An underlying theme of all the wines was a reflection from their growth area; subtle undertones of minerality, salinity and garrigue. The balance of fruit and acidity made the wines smooth, elegant and complex . This gave a voluminous quality in the mouth.

So – very many thanks to Richard for collecting and showing these wines, I really would have loved to attend. Other tasters have told me of the overall salinity (does that reflect the sea-side location), balance and poise in the wines. This confirms my impressions over time about wines of Roussillon – that the better end is cheaper, fresher and more complex than comparable Languedoc wines, despite (?) being further South. Perhaps the reason is more small artisan growers, or the easier affordability of the wines (meaning we can drink higher up the scale), or the sea… or the good offices of people like Richard who brought us these wines… At any event a great success – thanks again Richard…

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This month, the ICC Tasting will be of wines from Collioure, in the very capable hands of Richard.

Collioure AC (AOP) is a small wine area in the very South-Eastern corner of Roussillon – and indeed France. Centred upon the old fishing village of the same name, the area also produces produces Vin Doux within the identical geographical boundaries, which is always labelled Banyuls. Collioure is the name reserved for normal strength, dry wines.

Collioure/Banyuls is a small area, producing about 4% of all wine in the Roussillon area. Similar amounts of each are made, depending on the harvest. Collioure is untypical in that 20% of the planting is white (the average over all Roussillon is 3%!) – so about a third of white Roussillon AOC (now AOP) is from Collioure. Which is interesting now since AOC white was only permitted in Collioure from 2003.

Collioure AOC red is always a blend which must contain at least a 60% of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with no individual grape permitted to exceed 90% of the total blend. Cinsault and Carignan and allowed to up to a maximum of 30%. Today the AOC white blend must contain a minimum of 70% blend of Grenache blanc and Grenache gris with Macabeo, Malvoisie, Marsanne, Roussanne and Vermentino (Rolle) permitted to round out the remaining portion of the blend – though each of those grape varieties can not individually exceed 15%.

Richard has chosen to show wines based on one of the top 5 producers – if not the best – Domaine La Tour Vieille. They produce 70,00 bottles a year of Banyuls and Collioure, by manual harvesting 10 ha of red and 2.5 ha of white. They practice Lutte Raisonnée viticulture. The grapes are all grown on schist soils and are composed of – Reds: Carignan (5%), Mourvèdre (15%), Grenache noir (65%), Syrah (15%); Whites: Macabeu (10%), Roussanne (10%), Grenache gris (50%), Grenache blanc (20%), Vermentino (10%). So a very typical mix from the area. The grapes range in age from 20 years old (some of the whites) to 70!

All grapes are harvested by hand and nothing is mechanized at all (no tractors) and all wines are fermented traditionally with wild yeasts. They make a white, a Rosé and several Banyuls and late harvest wines, as well as several prestigous Reds….

The whiteCollioure, “Les Canadells” is vinified in the following way: the Grenache Gris is pressed immediately after harvest; Grenache Blanc, Macabeo, Vermentino, Roussanne undergo a short skin maceration; then percentage of the wine is fermented in oak barrels with a regular stirring of the lees and bottled 6 months after harvest.

All the Collioure reds undergo pump-overs and all punch-downs are by foot, the wine is bottled 10 to 18 months after fermentation.

A very attractive tasting, I think… I wish I was there but I am actually avoiding the 31°C sun in the Loire…. With Richard’s (and other attendees’) assistance the notes should be with you early next week (although I face a crashingly busy weekend before then)…..

À Bientôt…

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On Thursday 18th May 2017 the ICC group tasted 3 Alto-Adige varietal wines (Riesling, Pinot Grigio and Gewürztraminer) against “reference” equivalents from Alsace. The idea being to see if the “lighter, drier, cleaner” reputation for the former was justified – and/or if it implied a “less characterful” other side to that coin? I chose mature Alsace wines to emphasise this, and to ponder if the Alto-Adige wines would ever develop to a similar degree.

The wines were served in pairs, so the notes below will contain both-way comparative comments. However only the first pair were served blind as I thought the relative ages of the wines would make the other pairs too obvious anyway.

Here are my notes:

KAEFFERKOPF RIESLING 2008 (Schaetzel) – 13% – Grower €17 (Approx £25 in UK)
Only showing a slight hint of diesel, despite its age – floral hints and an apple blossom note in a more aromatic wine. Palate is rounder and richer with a long warm acidic line supporting a fruit phase reminiscent of dried apricots. Rather satisfying and still quite young.Ratings: Quality: 16/20 Value: 15/20

PACHERHOF RIESLING 2012 (Valle Iscaro) – 13% – £15 Le Langhe
The nose has a light but more evolved diesel element, but is quite quiet overall with a hint of citrus. The palate is actually less dry than the Alsace wine, clean with warm acidity and a pear hint – but a mineral, slightly bitter, line grows through the wine, supporting the middle but somewhat unbalancing the finish.Ratings: Quality: 15/20 Value: 15/20

It seemed the older wine was on a much longer evolution, and had more depth and interest. However I felt the A-A was not shamed by comparison, and would work as well or better in some contexts.

BRAND GRAND CRU PINOT GRIS 2005 (Turckheim) – 13½%– £19 Noel Young
Instantly recognizable Alsace PG, much darker than the Alto Adige but still fresh. Hints of flowers (roses?) and ginger with smoky notes. The palate only a little off-dry with an integrated fruit-acid line (passion fruit, quince, mango) held well together for a long time. Long and complex – a lovely wine…Ratings: Quality: 17/20 Value: 17/20

ERSTE + NEUE PINOT GRIGIO 2015 – 14%– £15 Noel Young / Highbury Vintners
This has a some PG character but only about a third as intense as the Alsace. Similar profile to the AA Riesling: clean; warm acidity; fruit (peachy in this case); mineral at the end… not all that interesting and certainly nor compared to the Alsace PG.Ratings: Quality: 14/20 Value: 14/20

This was even more telling a comparison than I imagined. With ten years between the wines, I wondered that the Alsace might be too old… Far from it – it positively shined with flavour and complexity and supported its slight sweetness well. The A-A certainly paled by comparison, although not a bad wine – I thought it had more interest than most Grigio, but here the least interesting of the A-A wines anyway…

HEIMBERGER “SOL GRANITIQUE” GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2007 (Beblenheim) – 13%– Grower €12
No lychees on this nose but ginger and (surprisingly) pear. Palate is rich and viscous with some sweetness and a gingery spicy warmth and a “granitique” mineral line. Long warmth and a food-demanding grip.Ratings: Quality: 15/20 Value: 15.5/20

ELENA WALCH GEWÜRZTRAMINER 2015 – 14%– £16 Bottle Apostle
Slightly nutty nose with a slightly bitter herb notes. Palate has citrus and peach, with a hot spice line giving structure and a chalky (tending to creamy) mouthfeel. As long but cleaner than the Alsace and equally food-demanding…Ratings: Quality: 15/20 Value: 15/20

This seemed the closest comparison – both had clear Gewürztraminer characteristics – focusing on the ginger and floral more than the stereotype lychee. The A-A was a hotter wine, both in the foregrounding of its ginger flavours and its alcoholic weight. Also the mineral character was different: the A-A chalky, whereas the Alsace had drying salinity that held up the relatively low acidity.

Overall an interesting comparison in which the reputation of the Alto-Adige wines is justified: vibrant, leaner with a mineral frame. They are good wines with preference a matter of taste for most of the pairs we tasted. However the Alsace Pinot Gris was a long way ahead of the A-A Grigio (IMO) – maybe one needs to go up a notch to find a really characterful example… Also I can’t imagine any of the Alto-Adige wines have as long a development time in them as the Alsace, so – personally – in most cases I’d rather buy Alsace and wait a while…

On Thursday April 20th Janine led a the ICC Tasting on Wines Of Uruguay. I am very grateful to her for organising and conducting the tasting, and for the excellent notes she has provided.

The Tasting focused on two leading producers Juanicó/Familia Deicas and Vinedo de los Vientos. Lets start with some information about them:

Juanicó is Uruguay’s largest wine company, owning about 240 hectares of vineyards. The modern company is run by the Deicas family who founded it in 1979. The company is now run by Fernando Deicas who is the son of the founder. Fernando trained as a chemical engineer, is familiar with all the latest technical knowledge and equipment, and is a very good taster. Fernando brought French specialists to Juanicó, and he traveled throughout France and Italy on a study tour before planting grapes in the early 1980s. Most of their vineyards surround the property in Canelones, situated about 40 minutes north-west of the capital Montevideo. Their main challenge is dealing with the high humidity in Uruguay. Well drained soils like the clay-limestone around the property help, as do open vine canopies such as the lyre system (where vines are grown on a flat plane, for example against a wall. About 12 grape varieties are grown. Red grapes include Tannat, Cabernet Sauignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Marselan (a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache Noir). White grapes include Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. The entry and medium level wines are labelled as Juanicó, while Familia Deicas is used for the top wines. Their premium wine Gran Bodegón shows the potential of Uruguay to make fine wine.

Vinedo de los Vientos is located east of Montevideo on the coast. Vinedo de los Vientos means “Vineyard of the Winds”, and sits where the River Plate estuary meets the Atlantic Ocean. With 17ha under vine, the family practices sustainable farming. Owner Pablo Fallabrino says “It’s really wild,” and “we don’t like an overworked vineyard.” Pablo grew up in a family of winemakers. His grandfather moved to Uruguay from Piedmont in Italy in 1920, and in the 1930’s he started two wineries with five different vineyards. Eventually, Pablo’s father Alejandro took over and became one of the key players in the Uruguayan wine industry, until he died in 1991. After his death, Pablo took over one of the vineyards – Vinedo de los Vientos – and in 1997, he started his own winery. Then in 2000, Pablo decided to do something different and he began blending and experimenting with winemaking techniques. For example, the dry wine tasted here (Estival) is a blend, but is fermented all together. He also experiments with different techniques for Tannat wines and is now planting Italian varietals. And with the acquisition of 10ha of vineyards at 500 meters above sea level, Vinedo de los Vientos now has the highest vineyard in Uruguay. The vineyard is two to three degrees cooler than his other vineyard and it’s steep, so he’ll have to make terraces. Using no insecticide and no-till farming, Vinedo de los Vientos does not filter their wines, and only fine with egg whites if necessary.

Here are Janine’s Notes:

CASTELAR EXTRA BRUT (FAMILIA DEICAS) – 12% – £13, Wines of Uruguay90% Chardonnay and 10% Viognier
This wine was a surprise, as I was expecting a light, frothy Prosecco-style sparkler, but it was quite a deep golden colour and had rich flavours of ripe lemons and tropical fruits with a touch of stem ginger spice. Quite sharp acidity and a slight bitterness on the finish, along with some minerality. The downside was that the bubbles weren’t very persistant and the wine fell flat quite quickly. Given the deep colour and richness, perhaps it had been aged for too long before release?

ESTIVAL 2015 (VINEDO DE LOS VIENTOS) – 12.5% – £13, Wines of Uruguay60% Gewürz, 30% Chardonnay, 10% Moscato Bianco
Pale golden colour. A mix of tropical fruits and a hint of lychees and rose petals from the Gewürz. Fairly light bodied, but with a touch of oilyness on the palate. Quite rich flavours and a nicely balancing acidity. A nice summery wine, refreshing but with some interest and depth.

BODEGONES DEL SUR VIOGNIER 2015 (JUANICO) – 13.5% – £12, Wines of Uruguay100% Viognier, 5% of which was fermented in new American oak barrels for 6 months.
Medium gold colour. Peaches and apricots and a honeysuckle-type floral aroma. Dry, rich and full-bodied, with refreshing acidity and reasonably good length. Felt like more of a serious wine than the previous white.

ATLANTICO SUR TANNAT 2011 (FAMILIA DEICAS) – 13.8% – £12.95, Wine Society100% Tannat.
Deep purple colour. First impression was of quite a strong vanilla aroma, but this faded and blackberries emerged, along with a touch of spice and herbs. Medium bodied, fruity and soft, with ripe tannins and a refreshing level of acidity. A surprising (in a good way) introduction to Tannat from Uruguay; was expecting something tougher / more tannic!

ALCYONE TANNAT DESSERT WINE (VINEDO DE LOS VIENTOS) – 16% – £21 (50cl), Wines of Uruguay100% Tannat, made in the style of Barolo Chinato. A fortified wine infused with herbs and spices that originated in the Barolo area of Italy. Ingredients often used include coriander, citrus peel, clove, ginger, vanilla, cardamom seed, rhubarb root, gentian, sugar and the bark of the Cinchona plant, which is where the drink gets its name. It was once used for medicinal purposes, but is now drunk after dinner in a similar way to Port. Once the base wine is made, it is aged for several years in old French oak
Deep crimson with a mahogany rim. Aromas of vanilla and spice and a touch medicinal. Sweet and full-bodied, with a slightly syrupy texture. Vanilla, spice, cassis and milk chocolate on the palate. Great acidity, makes it feel balanced, despite the syrupy texture. A hint of soft tannins on the finish. This was an unusual wine (not surprising, given the production method). I had read that it went well with chocolate, so we tried that out and agreed!

I got the impression that the group’s favourites were the final two wines. Overall I was pleasantly surprised by the wines, given the low number of producers making quality wines for export in Uruguay. They were all well made, are a bit different and had a really nice core of acidity that kept them tasting fresh.

Thanks so much Janine for a great tasting and such comprehensive notes.

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Uruguay is a small Wine Country, producing less than a third on one percent of the world’s wine. That still makes it’s production about 30 times that of the UK, about the same as Slovakia & Czech Republic combined, and a bit less than Switzerland.

Main Uruguayan Wine Areas

The country itself is small, the second smallest in South America, and has a mostly maritime climate. It’s soils are clay, loam and limestone – though there is considerable variety as you move away from the coast and up in altitude.

Mostly the wines we see in the UK are Tannat or Tannat blends from Canelones and Maldonado, but that is slowly changing. I even remember sampling a Gewurztraminer some – probably over 10 – years ago.

Wine making has been going on in Uruguay for well over 250 years, but it was the French-Basque immigrant, Don Pascual Harriague who brought Tannat vines to Uruguay in the late 1800’s from France. Tannat proved to be a perfect match for the primarily clay-loam soils and temperate maritime climate of Uruguay, and has been the country’s signature wine ever since.

Tannat is still the most widely grown grape (36%). Other common varieties are Merlot (10%), Chardonnay (7%), Cabernet Sauvignon (6%), Sauvignon Blanc (6%), and Cabernet Franc (4%), but Syrah and Alboriño are new promising developments…

Other than these basic facts I no little of Uruguay wine, and I suspect most readers will be in the same boat. So it’s a pity that I cannot attend the tasting this week – it will be led by the very capable Janine. I look forward to reading – and posting – the notes in a few days.

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On Thursday 16th March, in my absence, Kathryn led the Group in an appraisal on Wines of South Australia.

I was in the Loire, drinking Chenin Blanc, at the time – so the notes that follow from what I understand was a very successful tasting, are Kathryn’s own:

KILIKANOON MORT’S BLOCK RIESLING 2014 CLARE VALLEY EWGA £16.50
From the centre of the Clare Valley, about 15 km South of Clare itself… The vineyard is 400m asl and has light brown earth over limestone. This had some petrol on the nose; lime; good acidity; good value.

SKILLOGALEE TREVARRICK RIESLING 2012 CLARE VALLEY Great Western Wine £25.50
This is from 7 or 8 km further North and a little higher (480m asl) than the previous wine. Lots going on; lime and floral notes; some petrol on the nose; develops and changes in the glass; orange notes come in later. The favourite wine of quite a few people…

HEIRLOOM VINEYARDS CHARDONNAY 2015 ADELAIDE HILLS Waitrose Cellar £19.99*
This is raised (85%) in French oak barriques (30% new) for 12 months, but they claim it’s light, a European-style Chardonnay with stone fruit and melon flavours and gentle oak integration.
Not what we were expecting from an Australian oaked Chardonnay. Actually more like a Chablis. No overt oak flavours. Pale in colour; citrus, apple with mineral notes. Enjoyable!

LOU MIRANDA ESTATE LEONE SHIRAZ 2013 BAROSSA VALLEY EWGA £15.25
Barrel matured in medium toasted American oak using 15% new barrels in the blend
The preferred Shiraz of just under half of the group. Some interesting complexity; quite a lot going on in terms of flavour. Some found a bitterness on the end palate. More tannic than the Gnarly Dudes.

TWO HANDS GNARLY DUDES SHIRAZ 2015 BAROSSA VALLEY Majestic £17.99
This has the same oaking proportions as the previous wine, and the grower claims “freshly crushed dark berries, and complex notes of black pepper and incense” but that the “tannins are quite gritty…”
We agreed about black fruit flavours, but not about tannins (perhaps they had softened). Very smooth wine. Very drinkable. The slightly more popular Shiraz.

BERTON VINEYARD RESERVE CABERNET SAUVIGNON 2014 COONAWARRAWineman £13
This wine was voted Best [96 points – Outstanding]“New World Cabernet under £40″ in a Decanter tasting last month! This is aged in equal parts of 1-, 2- and 3- year old French Oak barrels. According to Alistair Cooper MW it shows: “blackberries and liquorice… which flow onto a mineral drenched palate with wonderful salinity, mouthwatering acidity and fine-grained tannins. Cool, elegant and effortless”.
A very nice wine. Lots going on in terms of flavour. Cassis, sage, liquorice. Good complexity, good finish. Very good value. The favourite wine of about a third of the group!

Many thanks to Kathryn for so meticulously planning and delivering this tasting. We hope there will be more…

A reminder that there is less than a week for Members to enter the “200 Post Competition” over on the Members’ Page. It’s just a guess – must be worth trying?